Japan entered its high economic growth period in the late 1950s. The wartime lifestyle that emphasized thrift as a virtue shifted to a consumer lifestyle, and the center of the economy shifted from agriculture to the industrial and service sectors. Along with these changes, it became common for women to work after completing their education. In 1967, the number of female employees exceeded ten million for the first time. The number of female employees has gradually increased since then, and in 2000, 40% of all employees, or 21.4 million, were female.Click CHART to see the shift in the number of female employees in postwar Japan.